At Abuja’s Eagles Square, protesters shouted down the Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, as he attempted to address them. Despite his efforts to speak, the crowd’s chants of “hunger dey” persisted, making it impossible for him to be heard.
Once he managed to calm the crowd, Olawande clarified his stance, stating that he was not there to end the protest. “I’m not here to fight you, I’m not here to ask you not to protest, it is your right. Like I said, I’ve been to over 100-500 protests,” he said.
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The minister also promised to discuss the police’s use of canisters against the protesters.
Protesters, however, remained firm in their decision not to move to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium. They pointed out that a parallel protest held recently had proceeded without police interference.